Device for supporting and displaying merchandise



y l939- 'N. SNELLING 2,159,823

DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND DISPLAYING MERCHANDISE- Filed Dec. 7, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR M04044: S/VtZZ/A/G.

ATTORNE May 23, 1939. N. SNELLING I 2,159,323

DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING AND DISPLAYING MERCHANDISE Filed Dec. '7, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR A/mvaz m; vjA/fltM/ ATTORNEW itPat ntecl May 31939 t I I 21598Z3i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FoR SUPPORTINGAND DISPLAYING r MERCHANDISE Nicholas Snelling, Jackson Heights,

Long Island, N. Y.

Application December 7, 1936, Serial No. 114,615

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-174) This invention relates to display devices forFig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which use in supporting anddisplaying various kinds the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is formed.andclasses of merchandisaand particularly, to Fig. 4 is a verticalsection through another arranging the merchandise in inclined oranguform of device which I employ.

sliilar positions in the supporting'device to attract Fig. 5 is a planview of a blank from which the 5 attention; and the object of theinvention is to device shown in Fi 4 s C s provide a device of the classdescribed wherein Fig.6 is a front view of another form of device thesupport and display is fashioned from light which I employ. stock orthin material so designed or laid out as s e Vertical s c O the e 10 toprovide the required support for the article to of 10 be placed thereonand particularly wherein the 3 is a p a V e Of e blank from Which thinsheet of material is cut out within boundary the device ShOWIl in s- 6 d7 is formededges thereof to form the article receiving socket In theConstruction s w in F s- 1 t0 I or recess, the boundary walls of whichconform p y a blank Of the general Contour indicated I5' yvith thecontour of the article arranged in such in 3 0f t e drawings, said hlehkhaving e 5 socket; a further object being to provide a device curvedlower edge portion H n Curved side of the class described wherein themain body edges l2 and I3. The uppe edge s Out On the portion thereof isconical or substantially conical lines to form p y section in formwhereby the weight of thefarticl is 11 16, which in' the constructionshown is in the b tributed throughout the walls of said body porform ofa five p d star. One D the lower 2 7 tion; a further object being toprovide an article p gradually fading into t Central portion supportingbase including upwardly extendi of the lower base part of the blank orinto the display sections formed integral therewith, a d resultingconical base formed therefrom as later further to the provision of asupplementalcutdescribed However, e section '5 ay e 5 out at the topportion of the base forming a seat y ir form r c depending up n the orsocket for another article of manufacture to ha d se to be sp y and theyp of be placed on display, the walls of the last named p y matter to bearranged thereon Which Will i seat or socket being fashioned to conformwith be consistent W s the product being the contour of the articlearranged thereon, esv s I a p a y v d a r s of pecially when in aninclined or tilted position; a slits or cuts H where the lower point ofthe star 50 still further object being to provide a display and sectionJ' the lower DOItiOII 0f the blank article supporting device which is soconstructed so as to P v thedesiled fie a e ent o as to assume anupright position when an artihe display section l6 and permit theCurvature cle is arranged thereon and which will fall into of the.conical base to gradually taper into said inoperative positionautomatically upon the re fl p y seetien- 35 moval of the articletherefrom; and with these At l8, Ihave shown a arge Ope Cut from andother objects in view, the invention consists the e pertien 0f the baseof the blank in a device of the class and for the purpose d t boundaryWells Of this Opening are such specified, which is simpleinconstruction, effias to conform with the outer surfaces of the 6cient inuse, and which is constructed as herearticle to be Pieced display in therecess 4o inafterdescribed and claimed; socket formed by said cut-outwhen the blank is The structure herein disclosed forms a conset up foruse, and assumes @Substantially tinuation in part of the structure shownand deee o tio a Seen n F gs- 1 and 2 0f the scribed in a priorapplication filed by me August drawings V 7, 1936, and bearin SerialNumber 94,774, nd In the construction shown, the cut-out or recess isfully disclosed in the following specification, 8 is adap ed to pp t arectangular k of which the accompanying drawings form a b ock, u for e pa cake of p, but part, in which the separate parts of my improvethiscut-out may b 0f y s red ntOur t0 ment are designated by suitablereference charreceive and support various kinds and Classes 0f g etersineachof the views, and in which: merchandise of regular or irregularcontour. 5Q

Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of one form of One side portion of the blankis provided with a device which vI employ, indicating the method ofsemi-circular cut l9 and the other side portion its use." with acrescent-shaped aperture 20 adapted to Fig. 2 is a vertical section onthe line 2-2 of receive the tongue 2| formed by the cut [9 in Fig. 1.,securing said side portions together in supporting 5 the lower portionor base of the blank in conical form and the cone may be of a truecircle or of elliptical form, depending entirely upon the arrangement ofthe article on display and the type of article employed.

When the device is set up for use, the star display section l6 extendsupwardly from the front edge of the conical portion directly above thearticle supported in the recess l8, and this display section extends ina rearwardly inclined position.

With the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, I haveshown a different form of base construction as well as a different ar-'rangement of display section on the base. In practice, I provide a blank22 having a lower article supporting section 23 and a display section24, the latter being severed from the section 23 along the lines 25, 25aup to the points 26, 26a so as to form interlocking back wall portions21 and 28, foldable on the lines 29 and 29a and having interlockingelements 30, 3| for supporting the base section 23 in a substantiallyconical form with a straight back wall structure.

. The base section 23 is provided with a cut-out 32 which forms therecess or socket for the article to be supported thereon and the contourof the boundary walls of this recess or socket will conform with thearticle supported therein.

With the construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the conical or curvedcontour of the base sec tion 23 extends onto the display section 24, andthis latter section is flexed or curved to bring the side edges 24a. and24b thereof forward with respect to the central portion 240 thereof. Theblank 22 or the upper part of the section 23 which is disposed upon thesection 24 is provided with two side radial cuts 33 and 33a and aplurality of intermediate radial cuts 331). The cuts 33, 33a

are in line with scored foldable portions 34, Me

at opposite ends of said cuts so as to provide the outward fiexure ofthe top section 23a of the cone, or to maintain continuous verticalinclination of the front portion of the conical base while permittingthe reverse curvature of the display section 24. This is made possibleby providing a circumferential cut 35 extending between the points 36,36a and a vertical cut 31 extending from the central portion of thecircumferential cut 35 to the axis or center 240 from which all of thecuts 33, 33a, 33b radiate.

One of the distinctive features of the device shown in Fig. 4 of thedrawings resides in the fact that normally the display is notself-supporting, that is, in removing the article from the supportingrecess or socket 32, the weight and displacement of the top displaysection 24 is sufficient to cause the same to drop backwardly. Thepurpose of this arrangement is to prevent shop-lifting of a valuablepackage arranged on the display by giving clear indication of theremoval of the article from a display by the automatic dropping of saiddisplay. This type of device will be found useful in displaying jewelry,expensive perfumes and other articles of value. In this connection, itwill be understood that in designing or laying out the base, the weightof the particular article to be arranged thereon is taken intoconsideration. However, in some uses, the general structure of thedevice shown in Fig. 4 may be slightly modified to provide a supportingback wall and by changing the inclination of the cone to provide aself-supporting display and one sufficient to support articles ofheavier weight. The lay-out as shown in Figs.

4 and 5 is not suitable for supporting heavy merchandise.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8, I have shown another form of construction whereinthe blank 38 has a cutout 39 forming a recess or socket for supportingone article of merchandise within the boundary edges of the conical base40 of the device similar to the function of the cut-outs l8 and 32, andin addition, thereto, the upper edge portion of the base has anirregular cut-out 4| to receive and support a second article ofmerchandise so as to provide a dual support and display adaptable foruse, for example, in displaying merchandise sold in sets or pairs, suchfor example as selling a cake or bottle of one article and a tube ofanother article, both of the same manufacturer. With this construction,the end or side portions of the base are provided with coupling elements42 and 43 similar to the elements 19 and 20 for supporting the base 49in its conical shape, With this construction, the display section 44 isfoldable on the line 45 and includes a cut portion 46 forming a tongue4'! adapted to engage the package arranged upon the recess formed by theirregularly cut edge 4|.

As in my prior application, the edge 4| conforms with the contour of thearticle when the base is in its conical form so that the weight of thearticle arranged on display is distributed throughout the walls of thecone and prevents the collapsing of the cone, notwithstanding the factthat it is composed of light weight cardboard or what might be termedheavy paper. This is one of the distinctive features of the invention,especially as applied to the cut-outs disposed within the boundary Wallsof the base in the present disclosures. It will also be understood thatthe contour of the lower supporting edge of the conical base may befashioned to conform with the support upon which the display is to bearranged, as is taught in my earlier application.

With the different forms of construction shown, the blanks may beshipped in fiat packages, and printed, lithographed or otherwisecharacterized, thereby permitting the manufacture and sale of devices ofthis kind at a low selling price and yet adapting them for use indisplaying merchandise of heavy weights, such as heavy canned goods andthe like. In some forms of displays, two or more of the cut-outs I8, 32,39 may be employed to support two or more articles on the base inaddition to the top center supports, depending entirely upon the size ofthe base and the size of the articles to be supported thereon.

In each case it will be apparent that the cutouts I8, 32, 39, engage thecentral portion of the article supported, and that the end portions ofsaid article extend beyond and are spaced from the surface of thesupport. It should further be noted that each cut-out is shaped toconform to the particular article which is to be supported. In otherwords, it may be said that the outline of the cut-out is defined by theintersection of the surface of the particular article to be supportedand the surface of the conical base of the support.

The display sections of the several forms of devices disclosed are notonly self-sustaining, but are maintained in extended position under theflexed tension contributed thereto by the manner of cutting andsupporting the same in conjunction with the base. With the structureshown in Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive, the tongue 41 l0 claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters aids in supporting the display in properposition while at the same time aiding in retaining the article arrangedin the cut-out 4! against accithroughout the device, depending entirelyupon the size of the display and the articles of merchandise to besupported.

Having fully described my invention, what I Patent, is:

, 1. A device for supporting articles of merchantdise, said devicecomprising a support formed from a single thin sheet of lightweightmaterial and having substantially the shape of a hollow truncated cone,said support being cut-out at one side thereof intermediate the base andupper end of said cone forming a recess adapted to support apredetermined article of merchandise, the recess in said cone adapted toreceive the central portion of said article with the ends 1 thereofextending beyond said recess in spaced ,relation to the surface of saidcone, and the l section of the surface of said article with the outlineof saidrecess being defined byjthe intersurface of said cone whereby theweight of the article supported will be evenly distributed throughoutthe wall structure of the device.

1 dise, said device comprising a support formed 2. A device forsupporting articles of merchanfrom a single thin sheet of lightweightmaterial and having substantially the shape of a hollow truncated cone,said support being cut-out at one side thereof intermediate the base andupper end of said coneforming a recess adapted to support apredetermined article of merchandise, the recess in said cone adapted toreceive the central portion of said article with the ends thereofextending beyond said recess in spaced relation to the surface of saidcone, the outline of said recess being defined by the intersection ofthe surface of said article with the surface of said cone whereby theweight of the article supported will be evenly distributed throughoutthewall structure of the device, and said device having a displaysection comprising an extension of the wall structure of said support.

3. A device for supporting articles of merchandise, said devicecomprising a support formed from a single thin sheet of lightweightmaterial and having substantially the shape of a hollow truncated cone,said support being cut-out at one side thereof intermediate the baseand. upper end of said cone forming a recess adapted to support apredetermined article of merchandise, the recess in said cone adapted toreceive the central portion of said article with the ends thereofextending beyond said recess in spaced relation to the surface of saidcone, the outline of said recess being defined by the intersection ofthe surface of said article with the surface of said cone whereby theweight of the article supported will be evenly distributed throughoutthe wall structure of the device, and the top of said cone having meansfor supporting a second predetermined article of merchandise.

NICHOLAS SNELLING.

